Ecologist Madhav Gadgil gets Champions of the Earth award

Sub: IR

Sec: MSC

Context:

Ecologist Madhav Gadgil has been recognized with the United Nations Champions of the Earth Award, the UN’s highest environmental honour. He is the only Indian recipient of the award in 2024.

Contributions to Environmental Conservation:

Gadgil chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), constituted by the Indian government.
The panel studied the impacts of population pressure, climate change, and development activities on the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region.

Recommendations of the WGEEP:

Declaring the entire Western Ghats hill range as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
The report recommended classifying 64 percent of the Western Ghats, spread over six states, into Ecologically Sensitive Zones called ESZ 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3.
Almost all development activities, such as mining, construction of dams and thermal power plants, should be stopped.
A Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA) should be established to manage the region and ensure its sustainable development.
A bottom-to-top approach to governance should be adopted, starting from Gram Sabhas.

About the award:

The Champions of the Earth Award is the highest environmental honor presented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It recognizes individuals, organizations, and governments for their significant contributions to environmental protection and sustainable development.
The 2024 Champions of the Earth Award honoured six individuals and organizations: Sonia Guajajara, Amy Bowers Cordalis, Gabriel Paun, Lu Qi, Madhav Gadgil, and SEKEM initiative.